To reduce costs, the image forming apparatus may be configured such that the plurality of charging members are connected in parallel to a single common power source.
In such a configuration, a voltage is applied to the charging members upon startup of the apparatus at a time of closing of a cover for maintenance or at a time of power-up of the apparatus. At this time, if there is one charging member or a subset of charging members having an excessively low resistance for some reason (e.g., because extraneous matter has been removed therefrom by cleaning before the startup), an undesirable overcurrent would possibly flow through this charging member.